Jim Murphy’s Labour website is turning Japanese

THE official website of former Scottish Labour leader Jim Murphy has literally turned Japanese.

Murphy’s site once bore a prominent picture of the politician, a suitably Labour red colour scheme and boasts about him trebling his majority in the 2010 General Election.

But jimmurphymp.com is now awash with Japanese text and a picture of fresh-faced young woman – all of which is designed to encourage new entrants to the midwifery profession.

Told about the bizarre change, Murphy joked: “It’s nice that it’s going to be used for a different type of labour.”

The former MP for East Renfrewshire explained: “I no longer use the domain name and I’m pleased to hear it may now be being put to good use.”

The current appearance of jimmurphymp.com

Murphy lost his seat – along with all but one of Scotland’s Labour MPs – in the party’s 2015 election disaster.

Murphy, who had only become Scottish Labour leader six months earlier, in December 2014, resigned following the party’s worst-ever election result.

His old website is home to a page that roughly translates as ‘The people who are facing the midwife.’

The page calls midwifery “very great” and “rewarding”, as well as linking to jobs sites which list positions in the industry in Japan.

Murphy’s former official website

It is unclear who owns the website, and why they have used Murphy’s ex-domain, although several links on the page redirect to the website of Jichi Medical school, a private university in Shimotsuke, Tochigi, Japan.

Murphy, an MP since 1997, was a key figure for the ‘Better Together’ campaign during the 2014 independence referendum, and was famously pelted with eggs whilst on the campaign trail in Kirkcaldy, Fife.

Murphy’s current website

He now runs a strategic consultancy company. His new website, jimmurphy.co.uk, advertises the company and describes him as a “recognised problem solver”.

Murphy’s new website also describes him as a “business and strategic adviser with a range of clients across the UK and internationally.”